To Be a Soldier
by Sokkasm
Summary: Companion/Sequel to Tapestry. Really has no point. Happy FMA day!


** This is a companion to Tapestry. I would recommend reading that first. Sorry if things are confusing; it's meant to be that way. ;) Enjoy.**

* * *

Three years, four months, two weeks, and five days. That's how long Ed had been stuck in this damned land. He was long used to the abnormal differences from this place to his true home.

The animals were different. The food was different. The landscape was different. Even the smell was different. There was only one thing that remained the same; war. Thousands of people, soldiers and civilians alike, were killed throughout the dragging course of the hundred year long war. Ed still remembered every single tragic war story told to him; genocides, amputations, torture, death, families torn apart. There was no end to the stories.

Ed hadn't come here willingly; not to a place full of despair and anguish. Something went terribly wrong after the Promised Day was over. It shouldn't have failed; he sacrificed his own gate of truth to bring his brother back. It seemed flawless. He was leading his precious younger brother back home, and that's where everything went wrong.

Deconstruction was a normal process for entering and leaving the portal, but the way Ed had been deconstructed felt different in comparison to the various other times he went to the portal.

"You like helping people?" The cold bastard Truth spoke spookily. "I think you'll enjoy helping another world out. Oh, and I'll watch over that for you." Ed's flesh arm dissipated and returned painfully into automail.

A different world. Ed at the time didn't know what the bastard was talking about, but he didn't lie.

A couple took Ed in after they found him laying on the side of the road. They had a son the same age as Ed who had just been sent off to war. He quickly grew accustomed to the differences and had no choice but to accept the fact he was stuck here.

The first year went by painfully slow; Ed knew there was almost no hope of seeing Alphonse again. At least he had been returned to his original body. The homunculi were dead and Al was back to normal. The price for that apparently meant Ed was never supposed to see his true home again. He accepted that, which was the only reason Ed decided to keep moving forward in the new land.

After a few months, it was discovered the couple's son had been captured and killed in the war. That boy had been almost like a second brother to him, but now he was gone. Both brothers had been ripped away from Ed. This had to stop. He saved one world, why not another?

Ed joined the Fire Nation military in hopes of rising to the top to change this place for good. He was disappointed to discover the leader of this place wasn't elected, but born to the throne. Ed was going to have to find a way around that minor bump.

There was a new Fire Lord, and Ed knew if he could raise his rank up from a major, he would be able to talk to the leader in hopes of ending the war. He wasn't going to let anybody else die.

* * *

"Colonel Ling!" Ed grimaced. He came up with that name on the spot, since it sounded like a probable name here. It didn't take Ed long to be promoted to Colonel, but he seemed to be stuck in the position. He felt like Mustang; trying to desperately to be raised, but not being able to go anywhere.

"Your new battalion is here, ready for your disposal." Ed sighed. He was going to be leading the new troops to Ba Sing Se next week. He had only seven days to toughen these soldiers up to make sure they all returned alive and unscathed. Ed was notorious in the military for his ability to go on perilous missions and return with minimal casualties. Only two men had ever died while under his command, but that was still two too many. Ed grieved with the soldier's families and offered his condolences and apologies.

The families were honored that their sons had bravely died under the command of a noble soldier, and insisted he was not responsible for their deaths. Of course Ed knew he hadn't been the one to kill them, but it was still because of his orders they had been killed.

Ba Sing Se was impossible to breach, everyone knew that. Ed would attack the wall head on, while reinforcements came from the sides. Basically, his men were being sacrificed. Ed would not allow it.

* * *

The week went by too fast. Ed's men still weren't ready, but they had no choice. They were shipped into the heart of the enemy's territory, forced to fend for themselves. The battalion was small, only consisting of 46 men. They were all drafted and had little to no fighting experience. Most were merchants' sons, although, there were a few farmers. None of them looked like they were ready for war; they'd all be dead in an hour.

"Men, we attack the wall in an hour. Do as I say, and you won't die. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!" They replied sharply. Even though they were terrified, they had hope that the famous Colonel would make sure they survived. Yes, Ed was going help end this pointless war. None of his men were going to die today…

* * *

"Fall back!" Ed shouted. He knew better than to get close to the wall full of earthbenders. The whole plan was failing; the commanders and the soldiers that were supposed to come around to do a sneak attack were already dead. Only Ed and his men remained, but they weren't going to last long. Ed knew his orders were to stay, but they would all be killed shortly; they had two options, stay and be killed, or leave to fight another day.

Ed knew what he had to do. "Retreat!" He was holding an injured soldier in his arms as they ran into the forest. They were greeted by several angry generals.

"Colonel? What do you think you're doing?"

"The other battalions were wiped out. I wasn't about to let my men be slaughtered." Ed stared defiantly at the man. In his past three years, Ed had grown a little taller and could stare at people directly into their eyes.

"You need to get back out there and finish the mission!"

"No."

"These orders are directly from the Fire Lord."

"The Fire Lord can kiss my ass!" Everyone gasped and stared at their commanding officer.

"Colonel," The general spoke calmly. "I respect you. You are a well liked soldier, and we'd hate to see you court-martialed. If you don't go, we'll replace you and send your men with someone more capable."

"You will not be sending my men to their graves. Men! Let's go!" His subordinates followed their officer as he walked away from the base.

"Stand down!" The soldiers hesitated, but continued to follow Ed. "Arrest the deserters!" The General ordered and his men encircled Ed's battalion. One by one, the deserters were arrested.

"You, sir, are an idiot." Ed stated simply as he and his men were led to a military stockade. He had a gut wrenching feeling this day would not end well for his team. Deserters were not punished lightly, and didn't want to deal with that. He made a promise he would keep them safe. He wasn't going to break a promise.

"General." Ed puffed and the man peeked through the bars. "What's the verdict?"

"The usual." That was not what Ed wanted to hear, and he frowned with discontent. Typically, deserters were stripped of their military status, and banished. While it seemed simple enough, it was as good as a death sentence. The said soldiers were never able to see their families again. In a sense, Ed already felt like he had been banished once. He wouldn't mind a second.

"Sir, I'll take full responsibility. They were only acting on my orders." Ed said clearly and with power in his voice.

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Yes, you can. My men haven't done anything wrong. Let them go."

"I'll see what I can do." Ed nodded his head. Being a colonel had its advantages. Unfortunately, whenever he heard the title, he couldn't help but think about the place where he truly belonged. He stopped trying to ignore it.

"Your soldiers are free to go." The general came back after an hour. "We'll take you to the capital." Ed was taken to a navy ship to be transported to the prison in the capital city. He knew his banishment from his old life would be over soon.

* * *

"Here you go, young man." Ed bowed his head to the elderly man and he grabbed the cup of tea. The dark prison had been his home for little over a month, and he was recently moved to a prison directly beneath an arena.

"Thank you." Ed decided to use manners for the only person who had ever been kind to him since being imprisoned. He didn't know who the man was; he showed up one day and gave him tea.

The man sat down in front of the bars. "You're an interesting person." Ed cocked his head slightly, and he scooted closer to the bars to sit closer to the man.

"How so?" Ed figured he could have at least one more interesting conversation before everything ended.

"You could've been promoted if you attacked the wall. Instead, you pulled your men out and offered your life in return. Why?" The man took a sip of tea after asking the question.

"They would've been killed if I did nothing."

"You care about them." It was not a question, but the simplicity made Ed feel angry.

"Of course I do! They're human beings, not pawns." The man raised his hand in a gesture to calm Ed down.

"I know. You have a different mindset than most of our soldiers. They will do anything for power."

"Power corrupts." Ed took another sip. The man blinked and smiled.

"It is said you were a charismatic colonel aspiring to raise up higher in rank. If you don't want power, what is it you were looking for?"

"I want this war to end. The violence needs to stop. Families are being torn apart. Do you know what it feels like to lose someone you love?" The man lowered his head and he shed a tear, which made Ed decide to use a calmer voice next time he spoke.

"Yes. I lost my son."

"I'm sorry." They both sat in silence for a few minutes while drinking tea. Ed lost everyone he knew. He knew the anguish the man must be feeling.

"You were very brave to sacrifice yourself."

"No, I'm just ready to move on. It's been hard since I lost my brother. Things just aren't the same."

"I know the feeling."

"You lost a brother, too?" The man pondered Ed's question.

"Physically, no. My brother is very much alive, but he went through some changes."

"Is he in the military?"

"He's the head of it." Ed snapped his eyes open. This man serving him tea was the Fire Lord's brother.

"…Can't you do anything to stop the war?"

"I'm not next in line, my nephew is. I'm afraid there's not much I can do. But I do have a feeling this war is coming to an end."

"That's good to hear. Thanks again, for the tea."

"It was my pleasure. Are you sure you don't need anything else?"

"I'm sure." Ed gave a reassuring nod, and he decided to take a nap until his meal was delivered to him.

* * *

It certainly had been an interesting past few 24 hours. Shortly after Ed spoke to Iroh, the heir to the throne, Zuko, came to talk to him. Even though Zuko was still a young child, Ed could tell he would be a great leader one day. He only needed a light push in the right direction, and Ed hoped his words to him helped.

Ed was taken above into the bright arena, and he was tied to a post. His heart seemed to be pumping at full throttle, like it knew it wouldn't be able to circulate any more blood soon. He could see the Fire Lord's family sitting up front, and Zuko was nestled close to his uncle. Ed sent the two one last little smile.

"_Ready_!" Ed snapped his head into attention to stare down the archers. If they were terrible shots, he would find a way to come back for the sole purpose of teaching them a painful lesson.

"_Aim_!" He remained confident and calm. Ed showed no fear, as he wasn't going to give the satisfaction of losing to the Bastard Lord. The arrows pointed upward, and Ed felt…happy. It wasn't an excited happy. It wasn't a depressing happy. It was just happy. Happy his horrendous time here was coming to a close.

"_Fire_!" Deep within his heart and mind, Ed really didn't want to die. He was still young with a long life ahead of him. Still, death would be better than never seeing Al, Winry, or anyone else he knew again. He pushed away the anxiety and embraced his decision to take the blame. The archers released their arrows.

* * *

Whiteness shrouded Ed. There was no door. No gate. No truth. Just white. He wasn't sure what was going on, or what he was supposed to be doing. Ed hadn't felt any pain, so the archers had been true to their bows.

"Hello?" His voice echoed and he turned around when he saw movement from his peripheral vision. The outline of a white figure was slowly coming into view. "Mom?" A second light silhouette appeared and joined hands with the first. They looked so familiar. "Hoen- Dad?" The figures reached their free hands out and Ed grabbed them caressingly. It felt like home.

* * *

57 years later

Ed both longed and dreaded for this moment to come; the day he would get to see Alphonse. Winry had joined the Elrics several years earlier from a heart attack. She didn't hesitate to yell at Ed for not coming back.

Together, Ed, Trisha, and Hoenheim went to greet Al. They went from their colorful dwelling and traveled through the void white space. Ed greedily looked through the blank nothingness until he caught a familiar glimpse of golden hair and eyes.

"Brother!" The voice called out, and Alphonse embraced his older brother.

"You haven't forgotten me." Ed said teasingly.

Al looked scandalized. "I would never forget."

"Me either." They all vanished into the whiteness.

_Fin_

**Happy FMA day!**


End file.
